Pop Therapy (Formerly The Curious Life Podcast)

with Jana Firestone

Pop Therapy (formerly The Curious Life Podcast) is where therapist, bestselling author and unapologetic pop-culture obsessive Jana Firestone dissects the worlds we binge. From Bravo scandals, celebrity culture to streaming sensations and the fandoms that fuel them. With a clinical lens and a die-hard viewer’s heart, Jana unpacks the psychology of conflict, fame, friendship fractures, redemption arcs and the storylines we can’t stop analysing, alongside candid conversations with the people living inside the pop-culture machine. Smart, incisive and highly entertaining.

  1. 15 MAY

    Reinvention, Risk & Running Towards the Dream with Lola Berry

    Today on Pop Therapy, I’m joined by my friend, the endlessly multi-hyphenate Lola Berry - actor, author, podcaster, wellness advocate and one of Australia’s most recognisable media personalities. You might know Lola from her hugely successful podcast Fearlessly Failing, her ELEVEN books, or her vibrant career in health and wellness… but lately, she’s been documenting a whole new chapter: chasing an acting career in LA. From audition highs and confidence crashes to navigating the unpredictability of Hollywood, Lola shares the reality of starting again - publicly, vulnerably and honestly. We talk about ambition, reinvention, failure, purpose, burnout, identity, creativity and why sometimes the bravest thing you can do is follow the thing that scares you. This is a conversation about backing yourself before you feel ready… and what happens when you stop waiting for permission to go after the life you actually want. You can find Lola on IG at @yummololaberry or via her website: www.lolaberry.com Support this show and connect on socials at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IG: @jana.firestone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@janafirestone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube for FULL interviews: @poptherapypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.janafirestone.com⁠⁠ Thank you to Sam Talbot for his audio engineering wizardry. You can work with him too! Head to www.samtalbot.com.au

    1hr 9min

  2. 12 MAY

    Messy Wessy, Bravo Upfronts and RHORI Recap with Dana, The Bravo Investigator

    This week we kick things off with a look inside the latest developments from the Scamandavol fallout, including the allegations that West Wilson and Jen Fessler may have had a little dalliance, marriage be damned! We also cover today's NBC Universal Upfronts, where we were given a look inside the 2026 schedule, new show announcements and interesting casting for some of the upcoming offerings from Bravo and Peacock later this year. Then we launch into our RHORI Episode 7 recap, trying to unpack the complicated relationships, traumatic revelations and paranormal activity that plagued this ep! Catch the full episode here or watch on Youtube via the links below! You can find Dana at: IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@thebravoinvestigator ⁠⁠⁠⁠ The new pod: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@allyouneedisyoupod⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Bravo Investigator Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Bravo Investigator⁠⁠⁠ Support this show and connect on socials at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠IG: @jana.firestone⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@janafirestone⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube for FULL interviews: @poptherapypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.janafirestone.com⁠⁠

    51 min

  3. 8 MAY

    Mommy Issues and Needing Tissues: RHORI Recap with Dana The Bravo Investigator

    We are back with a recap of Episode 6 of RHORI and these women are peeling back every layer of those onions! From family trauma and grief, to Kelsey's breakup and Jo-Ellen's family fractures - this one goes deep. Dana shares her own experience with family estrangement and the ways that this storyline is giving her pause. This is reality TV at its finest, where we begin to reflect on our own lives, our own emotional backstories and connect with these women in a much more real way. Catch the full episode here or watch on Youtube via the links below! You can find Dana at: IG: ⁠⁠⁠@thebravoinvestigator ⁠⁠⁠ The new pod: ⁠⁠⁠@allyouneedisyoupod⁠⁠⁠ The Bravo Investigator Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠The Bravo Investigator⁠⁠ Support the show and connect on socials at: ⁠⁠⁠IG: @jana.firestone⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠@janafirestone⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠YouTube for FULL interviews: @poptherapypodcast⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠www.janafirestone.com⁠

    35 min

  4. 28 APR

    AI, Polo and Cheaters, Oh My: RHORI Recap with The Bravo Investigator, Dana Regan

    Welcome to your weekly RHORI recap collab with The Bravo Investigator, Dana Regan. This week we launch into Episode 5, where we are being breadcrummed more information about cheating spouses, accusations of ongoing betrayals and suspicious texts. Catch the full episode here or watch on Youtube via the links below! You can find Dana at: IG: ⁠⁠@thebravoinvestigator ⁠⁠ The new pod: ⁠⁠@allyouneedisyoupod⁠⁠ The Bravo Investigator Podcast: ⁠⁠The Bravo Investigator⁠ Support the show and connect on socials at: ⁠⁠IG: @jana.firestone⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@janafirestone⁠⁠ ⁠⁠YouTube for FULL interviews: @poptherapypodcast⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠www.janafirestone.com⁠

    55 min

  5. 21 APR

    RHORI Recap with The Bravo Investigator, Dana Regan.

    Welcome to a brand new weekly recap you’re going to want in your group chat immediately. This is the first episode of our new collab with Dana Regan, The Bravo Investigator - a weekly Real Housewives of Rhode Island recap, where we are diving straight into the mess. From the jump, this cast has been bleeding on screen - affairs, rumours, questionable money, shifting alliances, lifelong friendships and sensitive gangster vibes. Expect fast reads, psychological takes, and the kind of behind-the-scenes insight that will make you watch the episode differently the second time around. This is the gold standard of Housewives - real relationships, the potential for deep fractures, and so many skeletons that we know won't stay in the closet for long. Watch this episode in full on YouTube and support us via the links below. You can find Dana at: IG: ⁠@thebravoinvestigator ⁠ The new pod: ⁠@allyouneedisyoupod⁠ The Bravo Investigator Podcast: ⁠The Bravo Investigator Support the show and connect on socials at: ⁠IG: @jana.firestone⁠ TikTok: ⁠@janafirestone⁠ ⁠YouTube for FULL interviews: @poptherapypodcast⁠ Website: ⁠www.janafirestone.com

    49 min

  6. 11 APR

    Miguel Luciano: Impressions, Identity and Imposter Syndrome

    Miguel Luciano is one of those people you think you know… Our parasocial bestie, an unofficial Housewife, our wildly funny comedic relief - until you actually sit down with him. And then the layers peel away to reveal a deeply thoughtful, multilayered and multifaceted creative with lots to say. Recorded in February in LA, after we met at BravoCon last year, this conversation goes well beyond the impressions, the Bravo connections, and the online persona. Miguel Luciano is an actor, impressionist, and quietly one of the most thoughtful voices in the space . He opens up in a way he has never before, sharing why he’s chosen this boundary around some privacies, and what it costs (and protects) in an industry that rewards oversharing. We get into imposter syndrome as an actor constantly trying to prove himself, the surreal experience of forming real friendships with Housewives, and the pressure of navigating identity in a digital world that thrives on polarising opinions. It’s honest, funny, and unexpectedly grounding - a conversation about finding balance between visibility and authenticity, performance and self, public life and what you keep just for you. This one stays with you. Support Miguel: IG: @themiguelluciano TikTok: @miguel_luciano Support the show: IG: @jana.firestone⁠ TikTok: ⁠@janafirestone⁠ ⁠YouTube for FULL interviews: @poptherapypodcast⁠ Website: ⁠www.janafirestone.com And if you loved this episode, share it with someone who gets it - or leave a review. It helps more than you know. Filmed and produced by Lazy Pickle Studios, Los Angeles. Audio engineering by Sam Talbot - work with him yourself! Head to www.samtalbot.com.au

    48 min

  7. 2 APR

    Scamandavol Emergency Ep with The Bravo Investigator

    Emergency pod energy because… what is going on. This Summer House scandal has had the Bravoverse GRIPPED for days and who better to unpack it with, than my friend, Dana Regan - The Bravo Investigator! The Scandamandavol chaos has had us glued to our phones, deep in the group chats with shades of PTSD from actual Scandavol - and trying to make sense of a “connection” between Amanda Batula and West Wilson that truly no one saw coming. We get into why this has hit such a nerve, what it says about relationships, perception vs reality, and why the Bravo universe continues to blur the line between messy and meaningful. Plus, we wrap with a sharp end-of-season breakdown of Southern Charm — the Craig vs Austen tension, where Salley fits into the mix, and who’s coming out of this looking better… and who’s absolutely not. Listen now and share your thoughts and outrage on socials! You can find Dana at: IG: @thebravoinvestigator NEW POD COMING: @allyouneedisyoupod Podcast: The Bravo Investigator Support the show and connect on socials at: IG: @jana.firestone TikTok: @janafirestone YouTube for FULL interviews: @poptherapypodcast Website: www.janafirestone.com Audio engineered in a a same day turnaround, by the wonderful Sam Talbot. Work with him yourself! www.samtalbot.com.au

    1hr 6min

  8. 26 MAR

    Talking to the Dead, Judging the Living with David the Medium

    What happens when someone swaps corporate suits and criminal prosecution for psychic mediumship… and still has strong opinions about the Real Housewives? In this episode of Pop Therapy, I sit down with David The Medium for a conversation that moves between the spiritual and the wildly human - intuition, the afterlife, grief… and yes, Bravo. David shares his journey from the structure of corporate law and counter terrorism, to fully stepping into mediumship, and what it actually takes to trust your intuition (hint: most of us are ignoring it). We unpack how he connects with loved ones who have passed, what spirit communication feels like from his side, and the bigger questions around death, reincarnation and what may - or may not - come next. But this isn’t all ethereal. We also get into grief, trauma and the emotional weight of holding space for others… while still being a person in the world. And in a turn I deeply enjoyed, David reveals his very real, very unfiltered relationship with the Real Housewives - the obsession, the frustration, the “why can’t I stop watching?” of it all. This episode is equal parts grounding, mind-bending and unexpectedly funny - a reminder that you can be deeply spiritual… and still lose it over Housewives casting. If you’ve ever wondered about intuition, life after death, or why reality TV hits so hard - this one’s for you. Connect with David at: IG: @davidthemedium Website: www.davidthemedium.com Connect with the show: IG: @jana.firestone TikTok: @janafirestone YouTube for FULL interviews: @poptherapypodcast Website: www.janafirestone.com Audio engineered by the wonderful Sam Talbot. Work with him yourself! www.samtalbot.com.au

    1hr 13min
See All (136)

5
out of 5
53 Ratings

About

Pop Therapy (formerly The Curious Life Podcast) is where therapist, bestselling author and unapologetic pop-culture obsessive Jana Firestone dissects the worlds we binge. From Bravo scandals, celebrity culture to streaming sensations and the fandoms that fuel them. With a clinical lens and a die-hard viewer’s heart, Jana unpacks the psychology of conflict, fame, friendship fractures, redemption arcs and the storylines we can’t stop analysing, alongside candid conversations with the people living inside the pop-culture machine. Smart, incisive and highly entertaining.

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